Attended the EUSSET Summer School 2026 in Troyes, France.
Haowei Xu
Generative AI for
small-group collaboration.
I am an HCI PhD student at Open Lab, Newcastle University, studying how people work together with generative AI.
- CSCW
- Human-AI Interaction
I am a PhD student in Human-Computer Interaction at Open Lab, Newcastle University, UK, under the supervision of Dr. Ahmed Kharrufa. I also serve as a Postgraduate Teaching Assistant in the School of Computing.
My academic journey includes an MSc in Human-Computer Interaction with Distinction from the University of Nottingham (2022) and a BEng in Computer Science and Technology from Chengdu University of Information Technology (2021), where I was affiliated with the Interactive Media Studio. I am also an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA), recognizing my commitment to teaching excellence. I have gained industry experience in educational technology product development and operations.
Latest news
Published a paper at CHI 2026, the leading conference in Human-Computer Interaction, now available in the ACM Digital Library.
Awarded Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA).
Earlier updates
Published a paper at HCII 2025 in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Presented the prototype "AI for Group" at ECSCW 2025 in Newcastle, UK.
Published a paper at Chinese CHI 2024 in Shenzhen, China.
Joined Newcastle University Open Lab as a PhD student.
Publications
My PhD work focuses on generative AI in small-group collaboration; earlier collaborations span accessibility, community support, and game culture research.
Featured research · CHI 2026
AI as an Agent and Collaborative Space: Exploring the role of Generative AI in Small Group Synchronous and Asynchronous Collaborative Dynamics.
Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '26). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, Article 295, pp. 1-17.
What changes when a group works with AI?
Observations and semi-structured interviews with 27 higher education students, examined through distributed cognition.
Working together, live
A shared AI conversation gives the group a common point of reference: members can follow, discuss and negotiate its contributions.
Working apart, then sharing
When AI is used individually and its outputs are brought back later, the group has fewer opportunities to negotiate along the way.
Design implication: support the group’s shared understanding, as well as each person’s interaction with AI.
Wearable digitally augmented mask to support greeting games for autistic children: A preliminary study.
International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 103915. Elsevier.
GlobalUP: Leveraging Social Media to Provide Social Support for Chinese Cultural Groups in Unfamiliar Environments.
International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (HCII 2025). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland, pp. 395-408.
Collective Creation of Intimacy: Exploring the Cosplay Commission Practice within the Otome Game Community in China.
Proceedings of the Twelfth International Symposium of Chinese CHI, pp. 729-734.
Fish for Study: An Educational Game to Provide Motivation and Avoid Distractions from Mobile Devices during Learning.
INTED2023 Proceedings. IATED, Valencia, Spain, pp. 1954-1963.
Projects
Selected systems and prototypes I designed, built, or contributed to, spanning generative-AI collaboration tools, assistive wearables, and educational games. A few are also written up as papers in Publications, above.
Collaboration prototype · ECSCW 2025 demo
AI for Group
Group discussion
A shared channel for conversations with the team.
Personal AI
A separate channel for each person’s conversations with the AI assistant.
Open Lab, Newcastle University. Presented as a live demo at ECSCW 2025, Newcastle, UK.
Wearable Digitally Augmented Mask (MaskMe)
Wearable computing research, Interactive Media Studio, Chengdu University of Information Technology (supervised by Qin Wu).
Fish for Study
MSc dissertation research, University of Nottingham (supervised by Dr. Gail Hopkins).
CheChe
Computer vision & robotics research, Interactive Media Studio, Chengdu University of Information Technology (supervised by Qin Wu). Selected for the UIST 2019 Student Innovation Competition (poster session).
Education
Chengdu University of Information Technology - BEng
University of Nottingham, UK - MSc in Human-Computer Interaction with Distinction
Newcastle University, UK - PhD in Computer Science (expected)
Awards & Recognition
Postgraduate
EUSSET Early Career Travel Support grant for the EUSSET Summer School 2026
Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA)
Postgraduate Research Studentship (Fully funded PhD, Newcastle University)
MSc with Distinction - University of Nottingham
Undergraduate awards · 6 entries
Undergraduate
University Scholarship (Chengdu University of Information Technology)
First Prize - Sichuan Collegiate Computing Competition
Third Prize - 13th Chinese Collegiate Computing Competition
Excellence Award - 2nd China-Israel Hackathon Competition
Selected for the UIST 2019 Student Innovation Competition (poster session): "CheChe - An Interactive Tracking Robot Group Based on Footprint Reproduction," a team project with Chen, Y., Xie, X., Deng, R., and Wu, Q. [Poster]
University Scholarship (Chengdu University of Information Technology)
Professional Experience
Work Experience
Postgraduate Teaching Assistant, School of Computing, Newcastle University, UK
Academic Service
Reviewer - ECSCW; Student Volunteer - HCII 2025; Student Volunteer - ECSCW 2025
Earlier experience · 4 roles
Internship Experience
Research Assistant Intern, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University
Product Operations Intern, Baicizhan (BaiCiZhan)
University Service
Undergraduate Research Intern, Interactive Media Studio (IMS)
Student Assistant Intern, Office of International Exchange and Cooperation, Chengdu University of Information Technology
Teaching Experience
Selected teaching in human–computer interaction at Newcastle University.
Teaching Assistant/Tutor - CSC3731 Human Computer Interaction. Undergraduate, Newcastle University.
Teaching Assistant - CSC8022 Human Computer Interaction. Postgraduate, Newcastle University.
Other computing courses · 3 courses
Teaching Assistant - CSC1031 Fundamentals of Computing. Undergraduate, Newcastle University.
Teaching Assistant - CSC2034 Introducing Contemporary Topics in Computing. Undergraduate, Newcastle University.
Teaching Assistant - CSC1032 Computer Systems Design and Architectures. Undergraduate, Newcastle University.
Life Beyond Research
A glimpse into my personal world
Hi, I'm Haowei. I am currently living in Newcastle upon Tyne.
Coincidentally, my name sounds almost the same as the Geordie word "Howay" - the one that means "let's go" or "come on". So yes, every time someone shouts "Howay, man!" on the street, I sometimes turn my head.
I am from Shijiazhuang, a city in northern China that we like to call a "small city" even though it is definitely not small. It is the kind of place where winter wind teaches you character, and hot noodles feel like a survival skill.
My Interests
I love music. I write and release songs as a NetEase Music artist, and I used to be the piano accompanist for my university's Faculty Choir. I also really enjoy musicals and opera.
I'm a Nintendo person, especially The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Sometimes I dance hip-hop - mostly to remind myself that my body exists outside my brain.
I believe in the simple pleasures of life: good food, cozy spaces, and the warmth of home.
My Simple Dream
My long-term life plan is simple: a home with a cat, a dog, sunlight, and enough time to slow-cook things.
The cat supervisor's corner
Cat supervisor’s notes
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Get in Touch
I am always interested in research collaborations, academic opportunities, and conversations with fellow researchers and students in the HCI community.
Contact Information
Institution
School of Computing, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK